Eyes on Scarlet
by UnheardSong
Summary: Erza has finally come home, but something about her has changed... Everyone felt it. Where has she been? Natsu can't figure her out, and neither can Gray. Many of her friends have begun realizing, that she might have meant more to them, than what they thought.. And who is the creepy guy, that always seems to be around Erza lately? (Many possible pairings. Suggestions needed.)
1. She's home

Erza walked into the guild with her mountain of luggage and a controlling look in her eyes. Nothing peculiar about that. Except…

Fairy Tail went silent. No whispers or yelling. No movement whatsoever. It was like, the minute her foot had crossed the door, she had stepped on an invisible button that had paused everything. She stopped and looked around, puzzled. There were different expressions plastered on all the faces, she knew so well. Disbelief, anger, happiness… But what worried her the most where the tears. In several eyes she saw the glittering drops, threatening to fall at any moment. Her hand clutched the strap of her wagon a little tighter. And after what felt like a millennium, a voice filled with so many emotions finally said it. Finally said, what everyone refused to believe, until it was muttered "Erza… You.. Are back" everyone's beloved father figure said, with so much disbelieving love, it made Erza crack a tiny smile at her masters words.

And then it exploded. Some began sobbing, as if she had just died, some began applauding and some… She could not register any more. She had been knocked down by a blonde, whose tears seemed to have no end, and through her Heartz Kreutz armor, she could feel the love Lucy held for her. "Erza!" was all she said, and Erza laid her arm around her "Hey Lucy.." Erza simply said and arose. Everyone was starring at her, and she started to feel uncomfortable.

* * *

Laxus had come down, when he felt it, and after the shock about her return, him and Gajeel had somehow ended up next to each other in the bar, and watched Erza while she calmly greeted everyone in the guild with a sincere smile. Laxus was successful in hiding how utterly happy he was about her return. He did not smile, but he felt as if his soul was on fire. It was disturbing had felt that kind of deprivation. He had grown more attached to her, than he ever would admit.

"Do you feel that?" Gajeel said suspiciously, his eyes never leaving Erza. Laxus nodded, although he did not think Gajeel would notice. "Feel what?" a sweet voice asked politely. Laxus turned around and was greeted with a warm smile. Mirajane took her eyes of Erza, and looked into his eyes. He gave her a small smile, and could see the feeling that had unfolded in his chest, was in her eyes too. She had missed Erza, and he suspected that everyone had for their own personal reasons. Erza was a special girl, a strict girl, a demon. She was scary and a rule rider, she was kind of annoying and she was serious. But she was everything any person could wish for in a friend. He had no doubt that she would gladly give up her own life to make sure, that everyone with the Fairy Tail mark, and any innocent person for that matter, would live to see the sun the next day.

Mirajane sighed. Not one of those annoyed sighs, or depressed sighs, but a sigh of relive. "She's finally back" she whispered again, for who knew which time, since Erza had stepped through the door. Laxus nodded again, and could not take his eyes of this snow colored demon girl, who in a distant past would have done anything to make sure Erza did not come back. But that was the past. Laxus could practically see all the bonds that were tied to Erza, and different persons. And Erza even had a bond with him, and a bond with Mirajane, even though it would be difficult for anyone to see it. Mirajanes features got serious, and her smile faded a bit, as she turned to Gajeel "What is it you two can feel?" she asked, a bit too seriously. Gajeel looked at her, no smile or anything happy in his eyes. "She has changed" he simply said. "How?" she asked, but before he could answer, the room got heated to an unbearable temperature, with an angry cherryhead yelling "WHY?"

* * *

Natsu could not say anything. From the minute she had walked through the door, his mouth had been shut. He wanted to yell her name. Demand that she fought him. Give her a big grin, and a pat on the back, but he just could not. He could not believe this, was this real? Had she finally come back? "Is it her?" he whispered grumpily, and Happy just answered, with tears in her eyes "It is. She is back!" he said smiling. Natsu looked at her face, and Happy had to be right. It was her face.. Her smell.. Her fiery red hair. The hair he had always adored, and kind of always wanted to eat. It looked like a flame to him, but red was the fire color, so it would only be natural for him to want to eat it. Erza was really here, so why didn't he welcome her?

Because of the anger. He was so angry at her. She had been gone for half a year. No letters, no 'I-am-okay's. No nothing. Like she had just vanished… Just left him.. Everyone she had said, she cared for. How could she go away so easily, without considering their feelings? He clenched his fist, and starred into the table, the anger getting the best of him. He felt his temperature rising, and eyes burning. It had been so painful, he had missed her so much. How could she?

His hand caught flames, and before he could even register what was happening, he had rose up, turned to stand with his front against her, and thrown a ball of fire in her direction, while he yelled from the top of his lungs "WHY?"

She had summoned the sword from her Flame Empress armor, faster than anyone could see, even Natsu had thought, that he had landed a clear hit. She looked into his eyes, he could feel it, even with the smoke in front of her face. "Oy…" somebody had said, probably Max or someone like that, but had stopped before saying anything more. One look at Natsu's face was enough to know, to shut up. His eyes looked like lava destroying everything in its path, on the way down an erupting volcano. And he just beamed of anger.

"It had to be that way" she simply said, trying to sound stern, and Natsu was about to aim everything he had at her, just for saying that. But as the smoke cleared, he saw the look in her eyes. It was… different. Not angry, as he would have expected, but hurt. Like a wound reopened. And he literally felt his anger simmer down. The flames in his hand died. "Sorry…" She said, filled with a melancholic passion, that made his heart cringe. And he swore he could hear everyone else's do the same. "… I will take my leave now" she said in a normal tone, and before anyone could protest, she had left the guild.

"Erza.." Natsu whispered and took a step forward, only to be stopped at Makarov's silent voice "Let her go for now. She must be tired" he said calmly, while his understanding eyes followed her out the door. No one protested, and people began talking again. Mostly about Erza. Natsu took a deep breath, and gasped. He quickly opened his eyes, and starred towards the door, where Erza had just left. How could he not have smelt it before? "Wow…" he breathed out in awe.

And in the corner of the guild, with a black hood covering his face, a wicked smile was seen.

* * *

Well... Hi ^^ Soooo... This is my first FT-fanfic, and I really hope you will like it... Thank you for reading the first chapter by the way! I'm so happy that you read it :D  
Ehm... I'm not sure where this story is going, but it is on it's way somewhere xD, and english is not my native language, so I hope you will correct me if I am mistaken some places...  
And I have to say that I am a huge Erza fangirl, and I like her with almost all males in the series, so I haven't decided the main pair of this story yet :c Sorry... But I will happily take suggestions ^^ And... And... A shoutout to all Fairy Tail fans! Wuhu!  
So... now I will... Okay, a little comment. If you like my story, I would like you to write it, because it will give me confidence to continue.. It's always nice to know what people think ^^

Again thanks for reading! Goodbye you beautiful person!


	2. Throwback

Erza understood Natsu's anger towards her. She was angry at herself too, and he had right to an explanation. She had literally just disappeared! On her way to Fairy Hills, she remembered back to that day..

_It had been an ordinary day, no not quite, the weather was better than usual, which naturally had made her in a better mood. But as soon as she heard, things breaking, even before she had entered the guild, her mood drastically fell, and she became 'a demon', as people said. Actually she was just slightly annoyed, but when she had mentioned it to Natsu one time, he had just screamed "Demon!" in her face, and she had not bothered to change the impression since. She walked in, and people felt her gloomy aura immediately. Most stopped what they were doing, but she continued walking towards the scarf-wearing and the no-wearing boys. They had a good fight, and it was one of the more serious ones, Erza concluded. And Erza had admitted to herself that she actually liked Natsu and Gray's quarrels, it was.. calming. _

"_Natsu! Gray! Cease at once!" she said sternly, and at the sound of her voice, both boys laid an arm around each other, and lifted their other arm in unison, while they said "Best friends! Yup!" and shook, as though she had just presented them to their worst nightmares. She smiled, satisfied that they had made up, and she was the reason for it. She nodded shortly, before heading towards the bar, where the master sat, and just… looked at everything. She didn't understand it, but it was master's decision, so she had no right to question it. "Good morning master" she said politely, and he smiled warmly at her. She looked at Mira "Morning." Erza said and smiled a little "Do you…?". Mira just giggled shortly, and looked down on a plate already presented at the table. Erza sighed in delight "Thank you, Mira" she said, almost soft. That one piece of divine strawberrycake, was enough to save every day, the rest of her life._

_While Erza devoured the delicious slice of cake, Mira greeted her "Good morning Erza. There is a request for you… specifically" Erza kept her eyes on the cake. It was not uncommon that people made requests for her help. "It says the reward is a new armor" Mira said, and this made Erza look up "Sounds interesting" Erza said, and Mira smiled "But it looks kind of… suspicious. It just said: _**I request a meeting alone with the mage Titania, in The Limp Forest at nightfall. Further information will be given then. Reward for this job: The armor of….**_" Mira's voice died, and Erza could see she was struggling with the word, but she just sat and waited patiently. The white haired girl squinted her eyes, and let out an annoyed sigh "The armor of… Tranquility?" she said questioning. Erza's eyes widened, and she stared at Mira almost in awe. *THE armor of tranquility?* Erza thought, and the Mira just smiled, trying not to laugh at Erza's foreign expression "I'm guessing you're interested… But promise me you will be careful, okay? I don't like it." Mira said with a hint of worry in her eyes. At the sight of that, Erzas features were set in a relaxed way, and she smiled calmingly at her old friend "Don't worry Mira. Nothing will happen." Erza said, and Mira nodded._

* * *

_Erza had told some of the nearest friends – namely 'Team Natsu' about it, and there where very mixed opinions on that matter. "Do you think it is safe, Erza?" Lucy asked a bit worried, reminding Erza of Mira.  
"Pff, what are you talking about, Lucy? Erza can handle it" Natsu said, leaning back. It was boring to talk about this.  
"Yeah but…" Lucy said quietly  
"I don't like it either. It sound like a trap. Let us go with you" a shirtless Gray said.  
"Oy, Icebrain, didn't you hear what she said? The request was that she should come ALONE" Natsu said, in a-matter-of-fact-way.  
Grey sneered "I believe your brain has finally melted, hothead. It could be an ambush, you idiot!"  
This made Natsu stand up angrily "You want a piece of me, popsicle?!" he said, a flaming red aura arising around him.  
Gray stood up as well and said "Bring it on, Tinderbox!" around him a chilly blue feeling gathered, reaching towards Natsu.  
"Guys… Please…" Lucy reached her hands defensively in front of her, her palms facing towards them.  
Behind her a deadly purple/black aura rose, and scarlet eyes stared towards the two boys. As soon as they felt Erza's glare, their competitive aura sunk back, and they smiled simultaneously, while they stuck a hand in the air, and said "Go for it!"  
Erza sighed "You think so?" she said while the boys sat down.  
"Yeah" Natsu said "You can always come back"  
"True" Erza said "Well… Then I guess I should be on my way. It's nightfall soon. If I don't get time to say goodbye…. Take care" she said, granted them a small smile and left to pack her bags._

* * *

_She stood in the edge of The Limp Forest, and starred into it. There was a lot of mist – too much mist to be normal. She squinted her eyes, all senses in high alert. Something were wrong, she could feel it. This was not good. She began listening and looked around, backing away, thinking it was a mistake to be here. _

_And then a dagger flew past her head._

_She had just heard it in the last moment, and jumped back. She turned to where the dagger had come from, and summoned her Sea Empress sword. A silhouette began forming in the mist, and she clenched her hard harder around the shaft of the sword "Is it you, who have summoned me?" She asked, her voice the very definition of authority. She let the sword send moisture into the air, clinging to the small drops, which made the mist, causing the mist to slowly disappear, revealing the person._

_Erza stared the person in the eyes, after she had concluded that the person did not have a weapon in one's hand. She could not see what gender the person was, but based on the body, she would say it was a male. The person was older than her, but he was still relatively young. He was wearing a knight-helmet, so you could only see his eyes, which was some of the clearest eyes she had ever seen, and he calmly responded her glare. He was wearing a robe, which was odd in her opinion. A knight's helmet and a robe? He finally spoke "Yes it is, Erza Scarlet. My name is Kōsen, Tuyr." he bowed respectfully._

_She became confused. He had just thrown a knife at her, and now he bowed? She let the sword fade, as the mist was gone now, and made a quick bow, still convinced that he was not trustable in the moment. They stood up at the same time and looked at each other. "What is your request, Kōsen Tuyr?" she asked.  
"It is not as much a request, as it is an offer, Titania. I would simply like to offer you the opportunity to become my apprentice" he said, eyes still on her.  
She stared confused at the man. And then she realized something  
"Tuyr… You are…"_

"Yo" a voice cracked her flashback, and she looked at the person disturbing it. Gray's eyes looked into hers, with a whole bunch of emotions.

* * *

Author's commentary:

Hi again ^^ THANKS FOR READING UNTIL NOW!  
I'll try to update quickly... Grr... And thank you the people who have reviewed! And favourited! :D

And I must warn you... there will be a couple of OC's, but the rest i Hiro Mashima's fantastic characters!  
I don't know what to write... Ehm... Wuhu! xD


	3. Fairy Hills

Gray stared at her, while she steadily walked in his direction. She was so lost in thoughts, that she could have looked right at him, without any reaction. He felt like a creep, standing here staring at her, having done it a while, but how could he not? Her waving hair had always reminded him of a torch. When she had come home from stakeout-missions, he always shook his head at the idiots she had been after, for not seeing her. If they were that stupid, not noticing flaming red hair, they deserved to get caught and beaten up.

He was leaning against the stonehedge surrounding Fairy Hills, wearing nothing but his boxers. But apparently he had not noticed, or he just did not care. The sun had begun to set, so the blue sky began mixing with the orange warmth of the disappearing sun.

His own eyes became thoughtful. She was so close now, if he did not wake her from this 'trance', she would surely walk past him, and he really needed to know… well, everything.

"Yo" he said, clearly startling her, as she shortly shook her head, eyes unfocused, with a mild shock clearly painted in the brown eyes tainted with a greyish nuance, that always had reminded him of chocolate and steel. The weirdest mixture, he had grown so used to.

But it only took her a moment to find her voice "Gray…" she said, while she exhaled. Her bangs shortly covered her eyes, but when they once again were visible, she had that demonic, almost iconic look in her eyes "Your clothes!" she yelled, strict as ever. And that made him laugh, a long, heartfelt laugh.

That's Erza alright, disappearing to who knows where, and the first thing she does, is comment on his lack of clothing. "Geez Erza, don't do that to me" he said, when the laughing had calmed down, and in less than a moment, he held her in his arms, embracing her. "Don't do that to me.." he said, in a melancholic whisper.

"Gray…" she whispered surprised "I.."

"Hey! Erza! No BOYfriends in the hills!" Levy yelled teasingly. She had pronounced the word 'boy', in a really weird manner, and when Gray looked at her, he saw her features had changed. She looked… Old. Her eyes were nothing more than slits, and was it just him, or did she have her hair in a bun?

"What the hell does that mean, Levy?" Gray growled, letting go of Erza, trying to ignore the burning sensation in his cheeks. Erza simply smiled, looking at the Old-looking bluehaired girl. "He is my boyFRIEND" Erza said, making Gray even more confused. When he looked back at Erza, her features looked the same as Levy's, not just old, but as if they were the same person, hair in bun and everything.

Levy began laughing, closing her eyes and bowing over, while she had her hands on her stomach, as if she was in pain. "You always…. Made… Made the best Hilda" Levy said between her laughs, that made Erza chuckle a little.

"Wait… Hilda?" Gray asked and tensed up "You mean than mage- and manhating matron of yours?" He looked at the two girls, Levy had stopped laughing, and just smiled alongside Erza "That's our Hilda" Levy said proudly, and looked at Erza "Weren't you tired? Go to bed. You have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow" Levy said and raised her indexfinger at Erza, almost scolding her. Gray looked at Erza nervously. What was Levy doing? Did she want to feel the demonwoman's wrath? But Erza just smiled, a bit sad "I guess, I better do, what I am told" she said, which made Gray raise an eyebrow. Since when did Erza take orders? And from Levy nonetheless?

And before Gray knew what was going on, Levy embraced Erza, which he had done not long ago too. "Glad to have you back Erza" Levy said with closed eyes, pressing her cheek against the cold steel of Erzas armor. She let go, and gave Erza a peck on the cheek "Ever thinks, she is the new headgirl, and she has gone nuts! She regulates our bathtime, and even our reading time!" Levy pouted, and Erza ruffled her azure colored hair and said; "Don't worry, Levy, I'll have a talk with her".

Levy smiled brightly and grabbed her hand "No time to waste! Today is 'Ever'-day! She is making us paint pictures of her! And.. If we don't make it pretty, she'll punish us… And I can't paint!" she said annoyed, with a hint of fear in her voice, and began pulling Erza inside. Erza looked back and got eye-contact with Gray "I'll see you tomorrow Gray. Goodnight" Erza simply said, granting him a small smile, before she disappeared from his sight.

"Goodnight… Erza" Gray said, and couldn't help but smile a little. She was finally home.

* * *

Erza entered her room. It felt like everyone she met today, wanted to make her as tired as possible. She sighed "Those people are so reckless" she said, and chuckled for herself "… Fortunately". She sat down on her bed, feeling like hammered meat. When her and Levy had entered Fairy Hills, all hell had broken loose. A yelling Ever chased after Wendy, who ran away from her apologizing, with her arms thrown in the air and tears in her eyes.

And then the discussions started. Erza could not figure any of it out, and they ended up having the most unorganized round of voting she had ever experienced. And it ended up in her favor, with her being headgirl of Fairy Hills again, and now she sat here on her own bed in her own home. And yet she felt… Alienized.. Not by the others, but by herself. She stood up again, and began wandering down her Hall of Armors, fingers gently touching the different metal protectors.

She had always admired them. They were made of so many different materials. Designed for different purposes. Crafted by different blacksmiths. But they still had the same goal – to protect its bearer. She felt the same about swords and shields. Even though swords were meant to slay and shields to protect, swords quite often protected, and shields could be quite lethal in the hands of the right person.

The right person… She unintentionally grabbed her right wrist and stared into the air, with emptiness in her eyes. So many thought's filled her head.. But the one that filled the most, was what he had said on that day. She remembered it, word for word:

"_Erza… It's important that you don't let the power corrupt you. It could very well break the…"_

She quickly let go of the wrist, cutting of his voice, and clenched her teeth, along with her hands as she tensed up. Shortly after, she relaxed with a sigh. This wasn't the time to be thinking of.. That.

She headed towards the bathroom. What she needed today, was a long bath in her own shower.

What she didn't notice, was the hand, that was planted her window, and a cloaked figure leaning closer with a sick grin.

* * *

AUTHORS NOTE:

Hello again ^^ I know It's been a while since I updated... I'm sorry :c  
But thanks for reading this far! ^^ And thanks for the reviews! :D The pairings that have been voted for is Jerza and Greyza... Hmm :I

And I think I forgot to mention, that this is set after the GMG-arc, but before Tartaros. So if you haven't gotten that far in the series yet, I recommend it ^^  
AND! I promise that there will be some action soon... I just have to approach it right xD

Thanks again for reading! And I'll update as soon as possible! ^^


	4. Fight me!

The following day, Natsu had calmed down, and really just wanted an explanation from Erza. He sighed, before his iconic grin was plastered on his face, while he stretched and yawned. It felt like he hadn't gotten enough sleep.. And Happy chose not to tell him, that he had slept for 12 hours. "Happy, ready to go to the guild? And give the snowstripper a piece of my mind?" Natsu asked the blue cat, who, with a fish in his mouth, chirped a happy "Aye sir!", while he jumped into the air, spreading his white wings. "Well, let's go then!" Natsu almost yelled, while his voice raised one octave. And then they were gone. They could not wait. The hunger had filled Natsu with energy, and he just wanted to sink his teeth into the tender meat Mira served him. The thought of food unintentionally made him drool, resulting in a long trace of it on his path. The confused townspeople would think, that a giant snail had passed by.

He walked into the guild, and sat down beside Lucy. "Yo!" he said, smiling at her. She just stared at him, with disapproving eyes, and his smile faded a tad "Whaat?" he asked, a bit confused. "What was yesterday about?" she said with a high-pitched voice, clearly showing her frustration with him "Erza had just gotten home! And you attack her!". He sighed and leaned back "Mira! I'm hungry! What's on the menu?" he yelled towards the bar, where the white-haired-demon waitress stood, his voice filled with childish wonder and excitement, that made Mira smile a little "What would you like?" she said. "Natsu! Don't ignore me" Lucy said, now getting more annoyed with him "I…."  
"Yo! Chillibreath! No one wants to hear your annoying voice in the morning! Gray yelled, starring at Natsu.  
Natsu removed his eyes from Mira and got up "What did you say to me, Slushie?!" he said, embers clearly falling of his skin.  
"Why do I even bother…" Lucy muttered to herself sighing. She rose quickly and walked towards the bar, getting out of the dangerzone.  
"Have your lavabrain melted your hearing too? I said 'Shut up'!" Gray said mockingly, smirking at Natsu.  
"Why you little…" Natsu mumbled angrily, while walking towards him. Then he suddenly stopped, when the same smell from last night, tickled his nostrils. Erza's new smell. He looked towards the door, and felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw Gajeel's red eyes starring cautiously towards the door.  
"You smell that?" Gajeel asked so silently, that only Natsu could hear it, and Natsu nodded.  
"Of course I can smell that, it's pretty obvious. I'm not stupid" Natsu said just as silently. "Do you know what it means?"  
Gajeel chuckled shortly, looking him into the eyes "You're not stupid? Could have fooled me." He said, making Natsus temperature rise. Gajeel put his face in serious-mode again, and said "I don't know. But I don't like it.. It… Something is wrong. Something.. Is too powerful".

And just then Erza entered the guild, and it fell silent. Not as silent as last night, but most conversations stopped, just to look at her. Some people loudly greeted her, and some cheered. She just smiled, and waved at them. She walked towards the bar, and her eyes began shimmering.  
"Only one way to find out what's going on" Natsu said and walked towards Erza. Gajeel nodded, thinking that he would demand to know what happened, so she finally could tell the guild.  
"Erza!" Natsu yelled, and everybody starred at him, waiting for him to ask.  
"Fight me!" He yelled positioning himself. Clenching his hands, pulling them towards his body, and crouching a little bit – making his fighting position.  
Everybody was dumbstruck for a moment, while Erza just looked at him. Then Gajeel yelled "THAT'S YOUR PLAN!?", and some people began laughing. Others sighed and shook their head, mumbling about how typical it was.  
"Fine. Outside. Now" Erza said, and began walking towards the door again. For the second time, the guild fell silent. What just happened? Had Erza really accepted?  
Even Natsu just stared confusingly after her, until he began laughing, while running outside.  
"PLACE BETS HERE!" Happy's voice chirped.  
"Happy!" Lucy said, shocked. "Why would you do that?!"  
"I place 5000 jewels on Erza!" Cana said, while she walked outside, cheeks slightly red and a bottle in her hand.  
"You're on!" Macao said, while he walked beside the rest of the guild towards the door.

* * *

Outside Natsu and Erza had taken their stances. Erza had already changed to her Flame Empress armor, and Natsu's hands were on fire. All around them people cheered and bet against each other, trying to make their earning. He exhaled and looked into her eyes. He wouldn't admit it, but her smell, her new touch, frightened him. It wasn't terrorizing, and he wouldn't have nightmares about it, but he had that nervous feel in the stomach. He could feel, that it wasn't just hunger, and his grin faded.

Their master walked in between them, eyeing Erza. Natsu quickly became worried, by the look in his eyes. They looked… Suspicious. He had only seen that look, when he knew something was wrong. "Allright Brats" he said, looking her in the eyes, before looking at Natsu "Play fair. Start!" He said, while he backed away. Natsu ignored the feeling of fear. Now was the time to let go of his aggressions towards her. Time, to be her friend again, when the fight was over.

And then he grinned "This is gonna be good!" he yelled excitingly. He looked into her eyes, and she looked… almost afraid? No, not Titania, his mind was playing with him. She gently touched her wrist, before raising the sword "Come, Salamander" she said, and the look in her eyes changed. She looked determined now, more like the Erza he knew. And then he attacked.

* * *

Laxus saw it. He saw that look in her eyes, he was certain. It had been such a long time, since he had seen it, and he had never wished to see it again. It made his heart cringe, and he always got this unbelievably unbearable urge to hug her. Protect her. But he knew she would only beat his ass if he tried, and he did not want that. He sighed, and kept his eyes on her. The new aura she radiated disturbed him. And apparently the other dragon slayers too. What had happened to her?

"Laxus" He heard a serious voice call out, and he instinctively looked down, ad saw his small grandpa looking up at him, with serious eyes. "Do you know what is going on with Erza?" He looked towards the fight. It had only just begun, and Natsu charged her, with a full-on attack with his hands ablaze. She lazily swept his hands away with the flat side of the blade. The force of Natsu's hands, made her turn, but she used the power, to land in a hard kick into his right side, so he flew away, but he landed steadily at his feet. The grin was gone now, and his eyes began glowing with anger and seriousness.

"I wish I did. She smells different, pops. But how can you feel the change?" Laxus said, still looking at his biological grandpa, that some Fairy Tail children saw as their own. Makarov just smiled gently, eyes still on the fight, ready to intervene if Natsu crossed a line. Natsu had lost himself in training lately, so his strength had naturally increased. "She is one of my brats, Laxus. It is a parent's job to notice the small changes. She were gone for half a year, so it would only be strange if she didn't change a tad in that time. Plus she accepted to fight Natsu." Makarov said. Laxus nodded, turning his eyes back on the fight. Something had been bothering Laxus for a long time, and he thought that this was the right time to confront Makarov about it.  
"Master?" Laxus said, following Erza's movement with his eyes. She had just dodged one of Natsu's powerful iron-fist hits, but he followed up with a kick towards her abdomen. Her eyes were serious but.. There was this melancholy in them, that confused Laxus greatly.  
"Mmh?" Makarov answered, eyes never leaving the fight.  
"In all the time Erza was gone, why did you not send out a team to look for her?"  
Makarov sighed "I have discussed this many times with everyone, it surprises me that you first ask me now. As I have said many times, it was her own choice. If she had wanted to come back, she had come back"  
"I know that you said that. But I also saw the look in your eyes. There were no worries in them at all…" Laxus said "You knew where she was.. didn't you?"  
And before Master could answer, Natsu yelled "Fire Dragons Roar!" and sent a large pillar of fire in her way.

* * *

Gray hated the heat that Natsu sent out. He had already stripped out of almost all his clothes, only standing in his boxers. He could see, that the fight was intense. Erza ran towards Natsu, having shifted to her Water Empress sword, but still in her Flame Empress Armor. She swung her sword towards him, and he jumped back to get out of reach, but she quickly jumped after, hitting him on the leg with the flat side of the sword.

He had always found her fighting amazing. She swung powerful swords, threw sharp spears and shot fast arrows, but still.. She was so gentle with them, that they easily could have been feathers. She could stab them through her opponents' hearts in an instant, or cut open some important veins. But she didn't. Her aim was always to disable them, with as little damage as possible.

When he was younger, he had always seen her carrying books about the human body around, and he had told others, that she wished to find the humans weak spots and exploit them. He had been partially right, but she had told him once, that it was to find those spots, and try to avoid them. She wished to learn just how deep it was okay for her to cut, how much pressure a male could take and how much pressure a female could take. She had learned her own limits, she had explored and learned from mistakes and she had felt sorry for the ones who had died at her blade. She did not like to talk about it, but he could feel, that the ones that she had killed, had a special place in her life. They haunted her.

He couldn't help but crack smile. She had definitely earned his, and others' respect for her fighting abilities, but people seldom saw, how much effort she put into it. "Natsu, No!" He heard Laxus brute voice call out, and he swore that he could hear concern, but it was too late. The air became electrical, and he called out: "Lightning Flame Dragon Mode! Lightning Flame Dragons Roar!" And then Erza were engulfed in a large pillar of flames and lightning.

* * *

Authors note:

Hello! I'm sorry that I have not updated in a while . I'll make it better, I promise! D:  
And thank you everyone, for the reviews! It seriously make my day, when I see new ones xD  
I have realized I suck at wrting fighting scenes... But I will become better! I hope.. I'll try at least ^^

And thank you to those who follow my story! :D

Have a good day! ^^


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